The Leader - March/April 2009 - (Page 66) ECONOMIC ANCHORS IN THE STORM: TEXAS, ARKANSAS AND LOUISIANA WEATHER THE CURRENT ECONOMY AND HAVE A MAJOR ROLE TO PLAY IN IMPENDING REBOUND A Solar System Unto Itself Texas, along with Northwest Louisiana, rode the energy industry’s booms and boosts in the 1970s and 1980s, but now boasts one of the most diverse economies in the U.S., all the while experiencing explosive job growth most of this decade and emerging as the U.S.’s top exporting state. Haley, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “In Mike Beebe, we have a governor that understands economic development and has been aggressive and enthusiastic about economic development in the state.” The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, along with Houston, has long been a hub of commerce, within the state of Texas, nationally and internationally. Texas’ burgeoning high-tech sector as well as the booms and bust of past decades forged the Metroplex into a diverse center for business, R&D and innovation. For its part, the Dallas office market is always poised to absorb growth. Where vacancy rates around 20 percent may be a concern for some markets, they’re fairly typical for the Metroplex. Developers and their partners generally are proven right in their risk assessments. Even in a decelerating economy, Dallas’ office market absorbed 2.3 million sq. ft. (213,677 sq. m.) in 2008 according to Jones Lang LaSalle, a slow year for the Metroplex but stellar compared to markets across the country enduring negative absorption. Firms like Caris Diagnostics and Lineage Power inked blockbuster leases in the suburbs, but Dallas’ CBD captured two of Corporate America’s biggest headquarters’ deals of the past two years. AT&T moved its headquarters and 400 to 500 jobs to downtown Dallas from San Antonio, while financial firm Comerica relocated from Detroit, bringing 170 new jobs to Dallas’ CBD. RESEARCH FOR RESULTS. The beating heart of Canadian biotechnology. Power to innovate. brampton.ca 2 0 0 9 THE LE ADE R 66 MARCH / APRIL http://www.brampton.ca http://www.brampton.ca
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.